Play is a very natural part of a child's life. From their birth, we make every attempt to make eye contact with them, engage their senses and invoke a positive response, be it a smile or laugh. As a new mom, I was anxious to teach my child. I wanted her to reach her developmental milestones early. It was important, to me, to give her the head start I figured she needed. I discovered quite by accident that she learned even more effectively through play. Learning through interactive play with me, as well as siblings and peers, has, in my opinion, been the single most significant catalyst to preschool education in our home. The very nature of a preschool child, defined by the 3-5 year age category, is designed for play.
A preschooler is a very sensory being. Their senses are continually taking in information and registering relevance. Children prefer and are stimulated by bright colours. Music can set the mood for a task and cue bedtime. Tastes of a tea party or cake at a birthday party are enjoyable sensations. So much more learning happens when a child has a context to hang it on. If they are enjoying themselves, their is a greater likelihood they will remember how a table is set,or what manners should be used. I've found that in my home more is learned through the use of music and song than without. (This is still working with math and geography study for our now older children. - We sing it.)
A young child takes much for face value and is a sponge to the world around them. One only needs to expose them to a morning of Sesame Street to hear them excitedly count to ten on one foot or announce they have adopted a second language, French,Spanish or both. They watch us and copy us. This can be of great advantage to us, as parents when we join them in their world, let them lead us in play and cheer on their accomplishments. What a great way to learn acceptance, and self confidence as well as a way to positively reinforce good behavior and curb the stray ones.
The built-in curiosity these little ones posses, fuels the learning. Everyday is anew adventure in problem solving. The never ending stress of questions,"Why does....Mommy?", "Wat is that....Mamma?" or "Why did...Mom?" can be annoying and unceasing but push learning forward. Often in acting out their play is an extension of them trying to solve the problems(sometimes unfamiliar situations or unsure expectations). I have watched this unfold when we have played dress-up and it is my turn to be the child or Dad or someone other than myself. They can learn here why we respond the way we do.
Children learn by imitation. Have you ever heard the phrase, "Do what I say, not what I do"? This phrase is completely incomprehensible to a three, four or five year old. They look up to parents, grandparents, and older siblings as their role models. At this age my children wanted so desperately to be "big". They equated it with freedom and choice and control. Copying what I say, how I colour, what I eat or how I respond on the phone are just some little ways I see this. Copying the already "big" people in their life offers a small taste of what their "big" might feel like. In play, children are encouraged to make choices, have freedom to experience the consequence of choice( like when a block tower built a bit too high tumbles) and take safe control( decide who the ball is tossed to)
Finally, preschoolers are extremely social. You might have a shy child in a larger group of unfamiliar faces but never at home when surrounded by familiar loving faces, that are ready to respond to their every need. A child reaches out to be in continuous interaction with us. Their toys( regardless of how close the toy room is) gravitate to whichever room we happen to be in, from the time they are old enough to drag them there. This gives us as parents many opportunities throughout the day to make learning fun simply through our interaction with them.
Engaging their senses, and responding to our preschoolers curiosities, makes learning fun. Learning can be an amazing journey, filled with adventure to last a lifetime when we understand our children.
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